In the Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath wrote: “I am sure there are things that can’t be cured by a good bath but I can’t think of one.” Our research shows that there may even be some things that can be prevented by a good bath – as long as the bath is at the right temperature.

In recent years we have seen images of athletes plunging into ice buckets after big races, but our findings show that taking a hot bath after exercise for six days reduces both resting and exercising body temperature and improves running performance in the heat.

Athletes and people with physically demanding jobs, such as soldiers and firefighters, often need to perform in the heat. But heat is the enemy of performance. The body sweats in order to cool down, but this puts extra strain on the cardiovascular system which, in turn, increases fatigue.

Also, when people exercise in the heat they are at risk of suffering from heat exhaustion and the much more serious condition, heat stroke, which can be fatal.

To combat this, athletes typically acclimatise by training for ten to 14 days in the heat. This usually involves relocating to a hot country for training or, for the lucky few, daily training in an environmental chamber, which simulates a hot environment. These options are neither cheap nor practical.

Our new research from the University of Bangor shows that simply taking a hot bath in 40°C water after exercise in temperate conditions on six successive days provides heat acclimation. This reduced body temperature at rest and during exercise and improved five kilometer time-trial performance during treadmill running in the heat.

The therapeutic benefits of hot water bathing have long been recognized – anyone with aching bones and muscles who has bathed at a Roman spa will testify to this.

Researchers have found other potential health and fitness benefits of taking a hot bath after exercise beyond the pleasurable sensation of bathing aching muscles in hot water. For example, recent research from the University of Tokyo showed that heat stress after exercise enhanced fitness training adaptations at the cellular level in mice.

The authors showed that animals exposed to exercise followed by heat stress had increased levels of mitochondrial enzymes in skeletal muscles, which contributes to improved fitness. The authors suggested that heat exposure might be a useful treatment for people who can’t do much exercise, such as the elderly and injured athletes.

Our team also suggests that a hot bath can stimulate the immune system which may be helpful for athletes as heavy exercise temporarily decreases immune function and increases the risk of infections such as the common cold.

Our alternative heat acclimation strategy conflicts with current athlete practice, which includes taking an ice-bath after exercise, known as “cryotherapy”. However, the proposed benefits of cryotherapy for recovery after exercise and fitness adaptations have recently been questioned. Instead, we believe that, for sports people who compete in the heat, the new mantra should be “train-cool, bathe hot”.

Although participants in our study bathed for up to 40 minutes in 40°C water after exercise the benefits may be gained by bathing for as little as 20 minutes. We would recommend this as a safe approach when adopting a heat acclimation strategy.

In 2006, Nature published a paper describing how stem cells could be used to restore sight in blind mice. This study, and similar subsequent studies, created a lot of excitement about the potential of stem cells to cure blindness in humans. Fast forward 12 years and we still don’t seem to be quite there – one notable human clinical trial in Japan was stopped in 2015 due to a risk of tumour development in a patient’s eye. So are we any closer to using stem cell therapies to treat blindness, or will we always be “ten years away”?

SENS Research Foundation co-founder Aubrey de Grey believes in a world in which we no longer age. At a London event, he explained that he believes the first person who will live to be 1,000 has already been born, and we'll solve this "aging problem" within 20 years.

A team of scientists from South Korea has created a chemical that can prevent hair loss and promote hair growth. Known as PTD-DMB, the substance has been shown to work on mice, and it is now being tested for toxicity before human trials are considered.

Parents and teachers are painfully aware that it’s nearly impossible to get a teenager to focus on what you think is important. Even offering them a bribe or issuing a stern warning will typically fail. There may be many reasons for that, including the teenager’s developing sense of independence and social pressure from friends.

Eyes play a prominent role in our daily social encounters and are sometimes metaphorically referred to as windows to our souls. There now is compelling evidence to support the notion that much information about another person’s mind can be gleaned from his or her eyes.

Only 20 years ago butter was the public villain – contributing to raised cholesterol levels and public concern over an increased risk of heart disease. Now this public perception seems to have been reversed, and reality cooking shows seem to use butter in every recipe. But what has caused this shift in perceptions and is it based on scientific evidence?

We know Australians are consuming too much sugar. The latest results from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show 52% of the population are consuming more than is recommended, and this is affecting weight and dental health.

The fitness industry is said to be worth £4.4 billion in the UK alone. But, despite medical research telling us that exercise will help us live longer, the majority of people do not engage with health and fitness. Could it be that exercise is still considered a punishment – as it was in Victorian prisons? Or do we just need to increase the fun and social aspect to exercise to get more of us working up a sweat?

Most people know that it’s important to get enough vitamin D. Among other things, it’s vital for bone and muscle health. What people may not know is that there are two types of vitamin D: vitamin D2 (found in plant-based foods) and vitamin D3 (found in meat and fish).

Do you hate vegetables? You’re not alone. About 20% of the population are “super-tasters”. Super-tasters have more taste buds than other people and are super sensitive to the bitter compounds found in some food and drinks, even at low concentrations. If you have inherited super-taster genes then cruciferous vegetables (flower vegetables in the cabbage family) like bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, radish, swede, turnip, and watercress will taste disgusting.